SF and SJ ranked 2 and 3 for brainiest cities, respectively

[Texas User]

Originally Posted by grapico

In the work force...most places past a certain level will just rank years of experience the same as years of school. I.E. a 2-3 year Masters is equivalent to 2-3 years in the field assuming equal talent level. The exception is where the degree is a requirement for the position such as in law, medical, academia. A masters is often just a way to step past entry level. But I have seen many people fresh out of Undergrad who are extremely talented and promoted beyond that entry level within 6 months, vs their friends in a 2 year MA program. Every situation really depends on the individual. There are plenty of self taught sales people, programmers, all down the line. It is much harder these days to get a position without that piece of paper though.

Degree maybe a requirement for law and medical but not in business and technology. I have people with master's degree flipping burgers. College does not teach you communication and interpersonal skills.

From a business point of view, you are better off not spending that money to get a 4 year degree in business/IT.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by grapico

In the work force...most places past a certain level will just rank years of experience the same as years of school. I.E. a 2-3 year Masters is equivalent to 2-3 years in the field assuming equal talent level. The exception is where the degree is a requirement for the position such as in law, medical, academia. A masters is often just a way to step past entry level. But I have seen many people fresh out of Undergrad who are extremely talented and promoted beyond that entry level within 6 months, vs their friends in a 2 year MA program. Every situation really depends on the individual. There are plenty of self taught sales people, programmers, all down the line. It is much harder these days to get a position without that piece of paper though.

In defense contracting at least, military experience often substitutes for a college degree. I know a lot of highly paid IT managers on defense contracts who don't have a degree. They have no trouble moving around or up the ladder.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by ambient

Wow, lots of hostility against higher education on this forum... Develop your own ipods, high-end storage servers, and file sharing softwares, you ingrates!

Not at all. The main problem is the current *cost* of that higher education. I still think academia is far behind where the information age has pushed it. A main point of going to university before was the access to material that wasn't available elsewhere. Now much of that material and information is freely available to a broader audience. For many, it is a Catch 22, as I truly believe people can be self taught. But if an employer will not grant you the job because of the piece of paper, which is much more common now, there seems to be a problem. I think a lot of people just shouldn't go to college. There are plenty of people barely scraping by with gpa only slightly over 2.0, and many entering and not finishing whatsoever. I think we as a society should budget our resources differently is all.